Method of increasing the visibility of discrete morsels contained within a baked food product

ABSTRACT

A method of making a morsel-containing, baked food product that exhibits a high degree of morsel visibility on a preselected surface, which in the case of a ready-to-serve cookie is its top surface. The method includes the steps of forming a continuously-moving dough rope containing randomly-distributed morsels, followed by penetrating the continuously-moving dough rope with means that engage and transversely move a portion of the randomly-distributed morsels to a pre-selected, peripheral area of the dough rope that corresponds to the baked product&#39;s pre-selected surface where high morsel visibility is ultimately desired. Thereafter, the continuously-moving dough rope is cut into a series of individual dough preforms that are either immediately baked into the final baked product as in the case of a ready-to-serve cookie, or wrapped in a suitable wrapper and subsequently baked or further sliced and then baked by a consumer at home. In a particularly preferred method, the dough rope is laminated and comprised of one or more inner doughs surrounded by one or more outer doughs. 
     Also disclosed are several embodiments of apparatus for performing the above-described method in a high-speed manufacturing setting. In one particularly preferred embodiment, one or more reciprocating pins are used to penetrate the continuously-moving dough rope to engage and transversely move a portion of the morsels contained therein to the pre-selected, peripheral area of the dough rope. In another particularly preferred embodiment, one or more disks are utilized.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for making bakedfood products, and in particular relates to a method and apparatus forincreasing the visibility of discrete morsels contained within a bakedfood product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Food products that contain discrete pieces of edible material(hereinafter referred to as "morsels") are well known in the art.Examples include cookies, cakes, and pastries containing chocolatechips, butterscotch chips, nutmeats, bits of fruit such as raisins, andcandies such as M&M's® or Reeses Pieces®.

Most high-speed manufacturing methods of making various types ofmorsel-containing baked food products such as a ready-to-serve chocolatechip cookie typically include the steps of continuously forming a doughrope having morsels randomly-distributed therein, cutting or slicing thedough rope into individual pieces (hereinafter referred to as "doughpreforms" or simply "preforms"), and finally baking the dough preformsto produce individual ready-to-serve cookies. Unfortunately, when suchmethods are used, the vast majority of the morsels contained within thecookies are not visible upon a casual inspection of the cookies' outersurface. While this is not a serious problem, it has been found thatconsumers generally prefer a morsel-containing baked product to exhibita high degree of "morsel show", or in the case of a chocolate chipcookie, a high degree of "chip show."

One possible way of increasing morsel visibility in a baked food productmade in a manner as described above would be to sprinkle additionalmorsels on the dough preform's outer surface prior to baking. However,depending on the degree of tackiness exhibited by the preform's outersurface, most of the morsels would fall off the preform either prior toor during the baking step, thereby creating waste and increasing costs.In addition, the sprinkled-on morsels would tend to melt or "bleed" allover the cookie's outer surface when baked, thereby significantlydetracting from the cookie's appearance. On the other hand, such aproposal might be practical if the morsels were somehow pressed into thepreform from the outside in before baking, but that would add yetanother manipulative, time-consuming step to the process, therebyincreasing costs. In addition, such manipulation would severely distortthe preform and, ultimately, the final baked product.

High morsel visibility is also generally desirable in the new laminatedform of ready-to-serve cookies, examples of which are disclosed in therevolutionary teachings of commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,333,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The Hong and Brabbscookie can be made by, for example, coextruding an inner dough with oneor more outer doughs to form a laminated dough preform which, whenbaked, has different textures and degrees of sugar crystallization. Oneway of increasing morsel-show on a Hong and Brabbs cookie would be toinclude randomly-distributed morsels in the cookie's outer dough layer.However, in light of the outer dough's relative thinness and thecorresponding coextrusion nozzle's inner dimension limitations, onlyrelatively small morsels could be included in the outer dough layer.Since it has been found that consumers generally prefer much largermorsels, such a solution is not optimal.

In light of the above, the principal object of the present invention isto provide a high-speed manufacturing method of producing various typesof baked food products that exhibit a high degree of morsel visibility.

Another principal object of the present invention is to provide ahigh-speed manufacturing apparatus for producing various types of bakedfood products that exhibits a high degree of morsel visibility.

Yet another principal object of the present invention is to provide ahigh-speed manufacturing method of making various types of doughpreforms which when subsequently baked by, for example, a consumer athome in a conventional oven, produce baked food products that exhibit ahigh degree of morsel visibility.

Another principal object of the present invention is to provide ahigh-speed manufacturing apparatus for making various types of doughpreforms which when subsequently baked by, for example, a consumer athome in a conventional oven, produce baked food products that exhibit ahigh degree of morsel visibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As used in the following summary and detailed description of the presentinvention, the term "morsel" is intended to include a wide variety ofrelatively small, discrete pieces of edible material that are eithersolid or semi-solid such as, for example only, either naturally orartificially flavored chips such as chocolate, butterscotch, or peanutbutter, bits of fruit, nutmeats, cereals, and candies. The term "dough"is intended to mean a mixed combination of those ingredients common tovirtually all baked food products, including flour, sugar, shortening,and water. The term "dough preform" or simply "preform" is intended tomean a relatively small, discrete piece of dough that has, for example,been cut or sliced from a dough rope for baking into the final foodproduct. The term is also intended to include a relatively large pieceof dough that has been cut or sliced from a dough rope and wrapped in asuitable wrapper for subsequent cutting into yet smaller pieces andbaking by, for example, a consumer at home. In addition, although thefollowing summary and detailed description are generally directed to amethod and apparatus for making a ready-to-serve cookie, it will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionis equally applicable to other areas of the baked products art,including, for example, cakes, rolls, and pastries.

The present invention provides a high-speed method of producing varioustypes of baked food products that exhibit a high degree of morselvisibility on a pre-selected surface, which in the case of a cookie isits top surface. The method begins by forming a continuously-movingdough rope containing randomly-distributed morsels, followed bypenetrating the continuously-moving dough rope with means that engageand transversely move a portion of the randomly-distributed morsels to apre-selected, peripheral area of the continuously-moving dough rope thatcorresponds to the baked product's pre-selected surface where highmorsel visibility is ultimately desired. Thereafter, thecontinuously-moving dough rope is cut into a series of relatively smalldough preforms that can be either immediately baked into the finalproduct as in the case of a ready-to-serve cookie, or suitably packagedin groups of a dozen or so and sold to consumers for baking.Alternatively, the dough rope can be sliced into a series of relativelylarge preforms that are individually wrapped in a suitable wrapper andsold to consumers with instructions to further slice the relativelylarge preform into smaller ones for baking.

In a particularly preferred variation of the above-described method, thecontinuously-moving dough rope comprises a plurality of distinct,concentrically-formed, dough layers with the inner layer(s) containingrandomly-distributed morsels. In such a method, the continuously-moving,laminated dough rope is penetrated with means that engage andtransversely move a portion of the randomly-distributed morselscontained within the inner layer(s) to a pre-selected, peripheral areaof the laminated dough rope that corresponds to the baked product'spre-selected surface where high morsel visibility is ultimately desired.Thereafter, the continuously-moving dough rope is cut into a series ofdough preforms that can be further processed in any of the alternatemanners described above.

The present invention also provides a high-speed apparatus that isparticularly well suited for performing the above-described process. Ina particularly preferred embodiment, a mass of dough containingrandomly-distributed morsels is fed under pressure through an extrusionnozzle to form a continuously-moving dough rope. Before thecontinuously-moving dough rope exits the extrusion nozzle, one or morereciprocating pins penetrate the rope in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the dough rope's longitudinal axis. In so doing, thereciprocating pins engage and transversely move a portion of therandomly-distributed morsels to a pre-selected, peripheral area of thedough rope that corresponds to the baked product's pre-selected surfacewhere high morsel visibility is ultimately desired. The pins' size,number, spacing, depth of penetration (throw), and reciprocatingfrequency are adjustable depending on such variables as morsel size,dough rope size, dough rope extrusion speed, the portion (percentage) ofthe morsels desired to be moved, and ultimately the desired degree ofmorsel visibility exhibited by the final baked product's pre-selectedsurface.

After exiting the extrusion nozzle, the continuously-moving dough ropeis gently laid on transporting means such as a conveyor belt and slicedinto a series of relatively small, individual dough preforms. Thepreforms are then transported to either an oven where each one is bakedto produce the final product such as a ready-to-serve cookie, or to apackaging station where they are suitably packaged in groups of a dozenor so for subsequent baking by consumers. Alternatively, the dough ropecan be cut into a series of relatively large preforms that areindividually wrapped in suitable wrappers and sold to consumers withinstructions to further slide the large preform into smaller ones forbaking.

In another particularly preferred embodiment of the present method andapparatus, distinct masses of outer and inner doughs, the lattercontaining randomly-distributed morsels, are fed under pressure througha coextrusion nozzle to form a continuously-moving, laminated doughrope. Before the continuously-moving, laminated dough rope exits thecoextrusion nozzle, one or more disks penetrate the rope in a directionsubstantially parallel to the dough rope's longitudinal axis. In sodoing, the disks engage and transversely move a portion of the morselscontained within the inner dough(s) to a pre-selected, peripheral areaof the laminated dough rope that corresponds to the baked product'spre-selected surface where high morsel visibility is ultimately desired.As with the reciprocating pin embodiment, the disks' number, size,spacing, and depth of penetration are adjustable depending on suchvariables as morsel size, dough rope diameter, dough rope extrusionspeed, the portion (percentage) of the morsels desired to be moved, andultimately the desired amount of morsel visibility exhibited by thefinal product. In addition, the disks may either rotate or remainstatic, each version having its own advantages which will be describedfurther hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims that particularly pointout and distinctly claim the present invention, it is believed that thepresent invention will be better understood by reading the followingdescription with references made to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a particularly preferred apparatuswherein one or more reciprocating pins are utilized in practicing thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pin portion of theapparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along line 2--2.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another particularly preferredapparatus wherein one or more reciprocating pins are utilized inpracticing the present invention, in this case the making of alaminated, morsel-containing baked food product.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a particularly preferred apparatuswherein one or more rotating disks are utilized in practicing thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the disk portion of theapparatus illustrated in FIG. 4, taken along line 5--5.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a particularly preferred apparatuswherein one or more static partial disks are utilized in practicing thepresent invention.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of a prior art ready-to-serve cookiecontaining randomly-spaced morsels.

FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of a ready-to-serve cookie that wasmade by the present invention with any of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1,3, 4, or 6, said ready-to-serve cookie having a high concentration ofmorsels at or near the cookie's upper peripheral surface and acorresponding high degree of morsel visibility and consumer appeal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the present invention, the samenumeral is used to indicate common apparatus and workpiece componentsfound in the various embodiments illustrated. In addition, the frame,bearings, supports and the like which must necessarily be provided withrespect to the functional members of the disclosed apparatus are notshown in the Figures or described in detail in order to simplify andmore clearly depict and disclose the present invention, it beingunderstood that such details are well within the knowledge of thoseskilled in the art of producing baked food products

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a simplified apparatus 10 that canbe utilized in practicing the present invention. In operation, dough 12containing randomly-distributed morsels 14 is fed into upper hopper 16under modest pressure supplied by variable pressure means (not shown)that is appropriate to the consistency of dough 12, such as an auger,piston pump, or simply gravity. From upper hopper 16, dough 12 flowsinto an extrusion nozzle schematically represented as 18 wherein doughrope 19 is formed. While dough rope 19 is in the lower portion ofextrusion nozzle 18, one or more reciprocating pins 20, the relativesize and spacing of which can be seen in the enlarged cross-sectionalview of FIG. 2, penetrate dough rope 12 in a manner as describedhereinafter. Pins 20, which for obvious reasons should be made from a"food approved" or "food grade" material such as Celcon® (available fromthe Celanese Corporation) or Plexiglass® (available from the Rohm & HaasCorporation), are attached to one end of shaft 22, the other end ofwhich is connected to reciprocating drive means such as follower 24, cam26 (connected either directly or indirectly to variable speed drivemeans (not shown) such as an electric motor), return spring 27, guides28, and guide plate 29.

When cam 26 rotates to the position designated by dotted lines, cam 26pushes follower 24, shaft 22, guides 28, and pins 20 forward to theirrespective positions also designated by dotted lines such that pins 20penetrate dough rope 19 in a direction substantially perpendicular tothe dough rope's longitudinal axis. In so doing, pins 20 engage andtransversely move a portion of morsels 14 to a pre-selected, peripheralarea 19' of dough rope 19, area 19' substantially corresponding to thepre-selected surface of the final baked product where high morselvisibility is desired. The size, spacing, depth of penetration (throw),and reciprocating frequency of pins 20 are adjustable depending on suchvariables as morsel size, dough rope size, dough rope extrusion speed,the portion (percentage) of the morsels desired to be moved, and thedesired degree of morsel visibility ultimately exhibited by the finalbaked product. For example, if cam 26 reciprocates a large number ofclosely-spaced pins 20 at a high frequency, virtually all of morsels 14contained within dough rope 19 will be transversely moved to peripheralarea 19'. Conversely, if cam 26 reciprocates a modest number of widelydispersed pins at a slow frequency, only a small portion of morsels 14will be transversely moved to peripheral area 19'.

As cam 26 rotates back to its original position, return spring 27 pushesfollower 24 along with shaft 22 back to their original positions,thereby retracting pins 20 from dough rope 19. Since dough rope 19 isconfined within nozzle 18 under pressure and has a generally fluid-likeconsistency, the voids or "wounds" created in dough rope 19 byreciprocating pins 20 tend to close or "heal" almost immediately,thereby leaving little or no trace of "pin holes." Cam 26 and pins 20continue to rotate and reciprocate, respectively, in the above-describedmanner as more dough is fed through nozzle 18.

Upon exiting extrusion nozzle 18, dough rope 19 is gently laid on movingconveyor belt 30 and carried to a point downstream where reciprocatingknife 32 slices dough rope 19 into a series of individual dough preforms34. Thereafter, conveyor belt 30 carries dough preforms 34 either to anoven (not shown) where they are baked into the final product followed bysuitable packaging for sale to consumers, or to a packaging station(also not shown) where they are suitably packaged in groups of a dozenor so for subsequent baking by consumers. Alternatively, dough rope 19can be sliced into a series of relatively large preforms (not shown)that are individually wrapped in a suitable wrapper and sold toconsumers with instructions to further slice the relatively largepreform into smaller ones for baking. In either case, since each preform34 has a high concentration of morsels 14' at or near its peripheralarea 34', the final product produced by baking preform 34 will exhibit acorresponding high degree of morsel visibility on its surface thatcorresponds to area 34'.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an apparatus 40 which canbe used in giving a laminated cookie such as the Hong and Brabbs typedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,333 a high degree of morsel visibilityor "chip show." In FIG. 3, outer dough 42 and inner dough 44, the lattercontaining randomly-distributed morsels 14, are fed into upper hoppers46 and 48, respectively, under modest pressure. From hoppers 46 and 48,doughs 42 and 44 flow into the upper portion of coextrusion nozzle 50where they are brought together to form a laminated dough rope 52. Aparticularly preferred example of coextrusion nozzle 50 is ModelDDP200-900S, which is available from Bepex-Hutt of Leingarten, WestGermany. Before laminated dough rope 52 exits coextrusion nozzle 50,reciprocating pins 20 penetrate rope 52 as described hereinafter. Pins20 are connected to reciprocating means comprising a shaft 22, guides28, guide plate 29, and a rotating slider crank mechanism, generallyindicated as 54, that is either directly or indirectly connected tovariable speed drive means (not shown) such as an electric motor.

When slider crank 54 rotates to the position designated by dotted lines,shaft 22, guides 28, and pins 20 move forward to their respectivepositions as also designated by dotted lines such that pins 20 penetratelaminated dough rope 52 in a manner substantially perpendicular to thedough rope's longitudinal axis. In so doing, pins 20 engage andtransversely move a portion of morsels 14 contained within inner dough44 to a pre-selected, peripheral area 52' of laminated dough rope 52,area 52' substantially corresponding to the final baked product'spre-selected surface where high morsel visibility is desired. As withapparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the number, size, spacing, throw,and reciprocating frequency of pins 20 are adjustable depending on suchvariables as morsel size, dough rope size, and, ultimately, the degreeof morsel visibility desired in the final baked food product.

When slider crank mechanism 54 returns to its original position, shaft22 retracts pins 20 from laminated dough rope 52. Since laminated doughrope 52 is confined within coextrusion nozzle 50 under pressure and hasa generally fluid-like consistency, the voids or "wounds" created inlaminated dough rope 52 by reciprocating pins 20 tend to close or "heal"almost immediately, thereby leaving little or no trace of "pin holes."Slider crank 54 and pins 20 continue to rotate and reciprocate,respectively, in the above-described manner as more dough is fed throughcoextrusion nozzle 50.

Upon exiting coextrusion nozzle 50, laminated dough rope 52 is gentlylaid on moving conveyor belt 30 and carried to a point downstream wherereciprocating knife 32 slices rope 52 into a series of individuallaminated dough preforms 58. Thereafter, conveyor belt 30 carrieslaminated dough preforms 58 to either an oven (not shown) where they arebaked into the final product followed by suitable packaging for sale toconsumers, or to a packaging station where they are suitably packaged ingroups of a dozen or so for subsequent baking by consumers.Alternatively, laminated dough rope 52 can be sliced into a series ofrelatively large preforms that are individually wrapped in a suitablewrapper and sold to consumers with instructions to further slice therelatively large preform into smaller ones for baking. In either case,since each preform 58 has a high concentration of morsels 14' at or nearits upper peripheral area 58', the final product produced by bakingpreform 58 will exhibit a corresponding high degree of morsel visibilityon its surface that corresponds to area 58'.

As briefly discussed earlier, one possible way of increasing the morselvisibility of a Hong and Brabbs laminated cookie would be to include ahigh concentration of randomly-distributed morsels in outer dough layer42. However, as can be seen in FIG. 3, the relative thinness of outerdough layer 42 and the corresponding small gap 56 at the top portion ofcoextrusion nozzle 50 is such that only very small morsels would passtherethrough. Since it has been found that consumers generally prefermorsels of a much larger size, such a solution is not optimal.Furthermore, even if morsels of a size small enough to fit through gap56 were used, it is quite possible that several morsels would eventuallybecome trapped in gap 56 after several hours of continuous apparatusoperation, thereby requiring the operator to shut down apparatus 40 todisassemble and clean coextrusion nozzle 50.

FIG. 4 illustrates another particularly preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 4, apparatus 60 utilizes one or more disks 62as the means for penetrating dough rope 19 to engage and move a portionof the randomly-distributed, discrete morsels 14 contained therein to apre-selected, peripheral area 19' of dough rope 19, area 19'substantially corresponding to the pre-selected surface of the finalbaked product where high morsel visibility is desired. Disks 62 arekeyed to shaft 64, which is either directly or indirectly connected todrive means (not shown) such as an electric motor, and continuouslyrotated so that the relative movement and corresponding friction betweendough 12 and disks 62 are minimized. Preferably, disks 62 are made froma "food grade" material such as stainless steel, Celcon®, orPlexiglass®.

In operation, dough 12 containing randomly-distributed, discrete morsels14 is fed into upper hopper 16 under modest pressure. From hopper 16,dough 12 flows into an extrusion nozzle schematically represented by 18wherein dough rope 19 is formed. While dough rope 19 is in the lowersection of extrusion nozzle 18, rotating disks 62 penetrate dough rope19 in a direction substantially parallel to the rope's longitudinalaxis. In so doing, disks 62 engage and move a substantial portion ofmorsels 14 to a pre-selected, peripheral area 19' of dough rope 19, area19' substantially corresponding to the pre-selected surface of the finalbaked product where high morsel visibility is desired. As with the "pin"embodiment of the present invention illustrated and described earlierherein, the relative thickness, spacing (see FIG. 5), penetration depth,and rotating speed of disks 62 are adjustable depending on suchvariables as morsel size, dough rope size, dough rope extrusion speed,the portion (percentage) of the morsel desired to be moved, and thedesired degree of morsel visibility ultimately exhibited by the finalbaked product.

As dough rope continues past rotating disks 62, the slits or "wounds"created in rope 19 by disks 62 start to close or "heal" almostimmediately, again since dough rope 19 is confined within nozzle 18under pressure and has a generally fluid-like consistency. Disks 62continue to rotate and penetrate dough rope 19 in the above-describedmanner as more dough is fed through nozzle 18.

Upon exiting extrusion nozzle 18, dough rope 19 is gently laid onconveyor belt 30 and carried to a point downstream where reciprocatingknife 32 slices dough rope 19 into a series of individual dough preforms34. Thereafter, conveyor belt 30 carries dough preforms 34 to either anoven (not shown) where they are baked into the final product such aschocolate chip cookies followed by suitable packaging for sale toconsumers, or to a packaging station (also not shown) where they aresuitably packaged in groups of a dozen or so for subsequent baking byconsumers. Alternatively, dough rope 19 can be sliced into a series ofrelatively large preforms that are individually wrapped in a suitablewrapper and sold to consumers with instructions to further slice thepreform into smaller preforms for baking at home.

With some minor modifications, apparatus 60 illustrated in FIG. 4 can beutilized to produce Hong and Brabbs-type laminated cookies that exhibita high degree of "chip show". Such a modification would simply includesubstituting hopper 16 and extrusion nozzle 18 with hoppers 46 and 48and coextrusion nozzle 50 shown in FIG. 3, respectively, all othercomponents being the same. In such a case, disks 62 would penetrate thelaminated dough rope to engage and move a portion of therandomly-distributed morsels contained within the inner dough to apre-selected, peripheral area of the laminated dough rope, said areasubstantially corresponding to the pre-selected surface of the finalbaked product where high morsel visibility is desired.

FIG. 6 illustrates another particularly preferred embodiment of thepresent invention that is very similar to apparatus 60 illustrated inFIG. 4. In FIG. 6, apparatus 70 utilizes one or more static disks 72 asthe means for engaging and moving a portion of the randomly distributedmorsels 14 contained within dough rope 19 to the pre-selected,peripheral area 19' of dough rope 19. Disks 72 are mounted on a shaft(not shown) and held stationary by lock nut 74. Disks 72 are preferablynot full circle disks like the ones shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, but ratherhave a mirror-image, quarter circle shape much like a frontal view of aboat propeller. An obvious advantage in using stationary disks 72 is theelimination of drive means and power necessary to rotate the disks,thereby significantly reducing costs. Another benefit is that disks 72only penetrate dough rope 19 for a relatively short amount of time anddistance as compared to the rotating full disk embodiment, therebygiving the slits or "wounds" created in the dough rope more time toclose or "heal" before rope 19 exits extrusion nozzle 18. One potentialdrawback, however, is that after several hours of continuous operation,a thin film of dough can start to build up on the disks' outer surface.The solution of this minor problem, however, is rather simple: theoperator merely stops apparatus 70, loosens lock nut 74 with aconventional wrench, and rotates disks 72 180° such that the "new blade"is now in place. Then, the operator tightens lock nut 74, reenergizesapparatus 70, and prepares for the next "retooling" by cleaning theouter surface of disk 72 with a suitable cleaner.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of a prior art baked food product 90(in this case, a ready to serve chocolate chip cookie) containingrandomly-distributed morsels 14. Of particular significance is themodest number of morsels 14' that are close enough to the upperperipheral area 90' of product 90 to be visible. In contrast, attentionis directed to FIG. 7B, which is a cross-sectional view of a chocolatechip cookie that was made by practicing the present invention. In FIG.7B, chocolate chip cookie 92 has a substantial number of morsels 14'that are at or near the upper peripheral area 92' of cookie 92. In sucha cookie, morsels 14' are highly visible much to the delight ofconsumers.

While several particularly preferred embodiments of the presentinvention have been described and illustrated, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can bemade thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Furthermore, although the preceding description of thepresent invention was generally addressed to making a ready-to-servecookie exhibiting a high degree of "chip-show", the present inventioncan be applied with equal facility to any type of morsel-containingbaked food product wherein a high degree of morsel visibility isdesired. Accordingly, the following claims are intended to embrace suchchanges, modifications, and areas of application that are within thescope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making individual dough preforms,each containing discrete morsels and having a pre-selected peripheralarea wherein the concentration of said morsels is higher than theremainder of said preform, said method comprising the steps of:(a)forming a continuously-moving dough rope containing randomly-distributedmorsels, said dough rope having a pre-selected peripheral area and aremainder area; (b) penetrating said continuously-moving dough rope withmeans that engage and transversely move a portion of saidrandomly-distributed morsels contained within said remainder area ofsaid dough rope to said pre-selected peripheral area of said dough rope,whereby said pre-selected peripheral area of said continuously-movingdough rope has a higher concentration of said morsels than saidremainder area of said dough rope; and (c) cutting saidcontinuously-moving dough rope into said individual dough preforms. 2.The method recited in claim 1 wherein said dough rope is formed byextruding said dough rope from a mass of dough.
 3. The method recited inclaim 1 wherein said dough rope is penetrated with at least onereciprocating pin that penetrates said dough rope in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said dough rope.4. The method recited in claim 1 wherein said dough rope is penetratedwith at least one disk oriented substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said dough rope.
 5. The method recited in claim 4wherein said at least one disk is held stationary.
 6. The method recitedin claim 4 wherein said at least one disk rotates.
 7. The method recitedin claim 1 wherein said morsels are selected from the group consistingof chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, nutmeats,fruits, cereals, candies and mixtures thereof.
 8. A method of makingindividual laminated dough preforms, each containing discrete morselsand having a pre-selected peripheral area wherein the concentration ofsaid morsels is higher than the remainder of said laminated preform,said method comprising the steps of:(a) forming a continuously-movinglaminated dough rope having at least one inner dough and at least oneouter dough wherein said at least one inner dough containsrandomly-distributed morsels, said continuously-moving laminated doughrope having a pre-selected peripheral area and a remainder area; (b)penetrating said continuously-moving laminated dough rope with meansthat engage and transversely move a portion of said randomly-distributedmorsels contained within said at least one inner dough to saidpre-selected peripheral area of said continuously-moving laminated doughrough, whereby said pre-selected peripheral area of saidcontinuously-moving laminated dough rope has a higher concentration ofsaid morsels than said remainder area of said continuously-movinglaminated dough rope; and (c) cutting said continuously-moving laminateddough rope into said individual dough preforms.
 9. The method recited inclaim 8 wherein said laminated dough rope is formed by coextruding saidlaminated dough rope from corresponding discrete masses of inner andouter doughs.
 10. The method recited in claim 8 wherein said laminateddough rope is penetrated with at least one reciprocating pin thatpenetrates said laminated dough rope in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said laminated dough rope. 11.The method recited in claim 8 wherein said laminated dough rope ispenetrated with at least one disk oriented substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said laminated dough rope.
 12. The method recitedin claim 11 wherein said at least one disk is held stationary.
 13. Themethod recited in claim 11 wherein said at least one disk rotates. 14.The method recited in claim 8 wherein said morsels are selected from thegroup consisting of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butterchips, nutmeats, fruits, cereals, candies and mixtures thereof.
 15. Amethod of making baked food products, each containing discrete morselsand having a pre-selected peripheral area wherein the concentration ofsaid morsels is higher than the remainder of said baked food product,said method comprising the steps of:(a) forming a continuously-movingdough rope containing randomly-distributed morsels, saidcontinuously-moving dough rope having a pre-selected peripheral area anda remainder area; (b) penetrating said continuously-moving dough ropewith means that engage and transversely move a portion of saidrandomly-distributed morsels contained within said remainder area ofsaid continuously-moving dough rope to said pre-selected peripheral areaof said continuously-moving dough rope, whereby said pre-selectedperipheral area of said continuously-moving dough rope has a higherconcentration of said morsels than said remainder area of saidcontinuously-moving dough rope; and (c) cutting said continuously-movingdough rope into individual dough preforms; and (d) baking saidindividual dough preforms to produce said baked food products.
 16. Themethod recited in claim 15 wherein said dough rope is formed byextruding said dough rope from a mass of dough.
 17. The method recitedin claim 15 wherein said dough rope is penetrated with at least onereciprocating pin that penetrates said dough rope in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said dough rope.18. The method recited in claim 15 wherein said dough rope is penetratedwith at least one disk oriented substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said dough rope.
 19. The method recited in claim 18wherein said at least one disk is held stationary.
 20. The methodrecited in claim 18 wherein said at least one disk rotates.
 21. Themethod recited in claim 15 wherein said morsels are selected from thegroup consisting of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butterchips, nutmeats, fruits, cereals, candies and mixtures thereof.
 22. Amethod of making laminated baked food products, each containing discretemorsels and having a pre-selected peripheral area wherein theconcentration of said morsels is higher than the remainder of said bakedfood product, said method comprising the steps of:(a) forming acontinuously-moving laminated dough rope having at least one inner doughand at least one outer dough wherein said at least one inner doughcontains randomly-distributed morsels, said continuously-movinglaminated dough rope having a pre-selected peripheral area and aremainder area; (b) penetrating said continuously-moving laminated doughrope with means that engage and transversely move a portion of saidrandomly-distributed morsels contained within said at least one innerdough to said pre-selected peripheral area of said continuously-movinglaminated dough rope, whereby said pre-selected peripheral area of saidcontinuously-moving laminated dough rope has a higher concentration ofsaid morsels than said remainder area of said continuously-movinglaminated dough rope; and (c) cutting said continuously-moving laminateddough rope into individual dough preforms; and (d) baking saidindividual laminated dough preforms to produce said laminated baked foodproducts.
 23. The method recited in claim 22 wherein said laminateddough rope is formed by coextruding said laminated dough rope fromcorresponding discrete masses of inner and outer doughs.
 24. The methodrecited in claim 22 wherein said laminated dough rope is penetrated withat least one reciprocating pin that penetrates said laminated dough ropein a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofsaid laminated dough rope.
 25. The method recited in claim 22 whereinsaid laminated dough rope is penetrated with at least one disk orientedsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said laminated doughrope.
 26. The method recited in claim 25 wherein said at least one diskis held stationary.
 27. The method recited in claim 25 wherein said atleast one disk rotates.
 28. The method recited in claim 22 wherein saidmorsels are selected from the group consisting of chocolate chips,butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, nutmeats, fruits, cereals,candies and mixtures thereof.